Trends in the global market for crews: A case study

The starting point is an analysis of the evolution of recruitment of crews in the maritime traffic on the global and local scale; a case study in a medium-size port of the European Union, the Port of the Bay of Cadiz, is presented. The evolution of the Open Registries and the phenomenon of the globalization of crewing have been studied from the information provided in the databases of consultants and international bodies. For the case study an analysis has been made of 507 vessels that docked in the port of Cadiz between the years 2002 and 2008. From this analysis, it is concluded both globally and locally that market is evolving rapidly. The question of finding suitable crews is not only economic: sometimes the reasons for these “substitutions” are directly related to the demands in terms of working hours or civilized conditions of accommodation and food. Multiculturality is therefore a general feature of crews today; language is a key determinant of this phenomenon. The implication behind this trend is that the profession of ‘seaman’ in the OECD countries is becoming less attractive from the point of view of personal and even professional life. The human decapitalization of maritime personnel is also a strategic problem in the provision of specialized seamen for tasks of the Maritime Administration and PSC Inspection, together with the progressive aging of the existing crews.

► Trends in the maritime global labor market are identified.
► A concentration in the labor force had also taken place in a few countries.
► Crew market is evolving rapidly.
► Multiculturality is a general feature of crews today; language is a key determinant.
► Human decapitalization of maritime personnel in OECD countries.